Fifty million a day, trapped in the county town, can't spend it all.

The next day, the weather was hot and humid, and the clouds in the sky were so thick that they seemed about to fall down.

At 8:00 AM, Dawn Investment Company's official account posted its first countdown video and images to mark the company's opening.

The text and images are very simple: a negative of the Moore Department Store as a whole, with the opening announcement written on it: June 28th, see you there.

The large font is labeled above the image.

Below, a string of eye-catching words was printed: "With the care and support of the county party committee, the county government and relevant departments, Mu County is about to welcome our own Pang Donglai."

There are no fancy special effects or exciting background music, just a clean visual and a single sentence.

After the official account posted the message, it started buying traffic for distribution. At the same time, local accounts that had been contacted beforehand also began to repost it. Later, some internet celebrities also took screenshots and posted them on their own accounts. Of course, the captions varied. Some were doing it out of good intentions to help promote the product, while others used question-based captions such as "Muxian Pang Donglai? Is it a gimmick or something else?"

In short, many related videos appeared online shortly after the release.

Dozens of comments flooded the comment section within half an hour, mostly from accounts belonging to local residents of Mou County:

"Is it finally opening?"

"Didn't they say they were going to be comparable to Pang Donglai? Is that true?"

"Government endorsement?"

"There are still a few days left, I'll go take a look then."

Zhang Yang was so busy today that he barely had a break. The list of all the attendees from relevant departments for the opening day was finalized, and he delivered the invitations to each of them one by one. By the time he finished, it was almost evening. When he got home, Zhang Yang collapsed onto the sofa, his throat practically hoarse.

The temperature outside the window remained muggy, with dark, heavy clouds covering the sky.

"Looks like it's going to pour..." Zhang Yang muttered.

......

Meanwhile, on a road southeast of the county town, a white SUV was slowly driving along the highway.

Even with the wipers on their fastest setting, the windshield was still so fogged up by rain that I couldn't see the road surface more than 10 meters ahead.

There were two people in the car, a man and a woman, both of whom were talents that Luo Qingqing had recruited from the provincial capital.

The man's name is Gao Yuan, he is 35 years old and has worked in agricultural investment at a company in the provincial capital for eight years. The woman's name is Fang Xiaoyu, she is 32 years old and has been working in county-level cultural tourism and rural brand planning.

The two set off from the provincial capital today, intending to report to Mu County. Fang Xiaoyu suggested taking the provincial highway first to check out the surrounding terrain and environment. Gao Yuan agreed. However, after driving halfway into Mu County, a torrential rain started, making the entire road slippery and reducing visibility significantly.

Gao Yuan immediately turned on his hazard lights and slowed down.

"Can we get past that bend?" Fang Xiaoyu asked nervously.

Gao Yuan didn't answer, his hands gripping the steering wheel, his gaze fixed intently on the road ahead.

But the rain was too heavy, and the light from the car headlights seemed to be swallowed up by the rain.

Just then, as the car rounded a bend, a blinding white light flashed in front of them. Gao Yuan lightly turned the steering wheel and simultaneously applied the brakes. The car veered to the right, its tires skidding on the wet road surface, and plunged directly into the ditch beside the road.

Fortunately, the car wasn't going fast, and the ditch wasn't deep, so only the tire was blown out.

"Are you alright?" Gao Yuan unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at Fang Xiaoyu.

"I'm fine." Fang Xiaoyu checked herself over. "How are you?"

"It's alright, it just bumped into something." Gao Yuan opened the car door and got out, only to find that the right front wheel was stuck in the roadside ditch, the tire was completely flat, and the rim was deformed.

He took out his phone to call for help. When giving the address, he habitually looked for landmarks. His eyes swept across the area, and he froze.

He patted Fang Xiaoyu on the shoulder: "Look over there."

Fang Xiaoyu looked in the direction he pointed.

Through the rain, a few dim lights could be vaguely seen, and the outlines of several old wooden houses could be made out, scattered haphazardly on the hillside.

After Gao Yuan described the landmarks to the other party, they said that part of the road had collapsed and they couldn't come.

Gao Yuan looked helpless and had no choice but to walk with Fang Xiaoyu through the rain toward the village not far away.

The village is small, with about a dozen households. The houses are built against the mountain and look quite old, but they are still relatively tidy. In front of the village is a large drying ground, and at the end of the ground is a large banyan tree with its canopy spread out like a giant open umbrella.

An old man was standing under the eaves when he saw people approaching. He paused for a moment and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Sir, our car is stuck on the road. We called for help and they said there was a landslide ahead. We'd like to find a place to take shelter from the rain," Gao Yuan explained.

"Come in, come in."

The old man stepped aside and led the two into the house.

The room was very simple, with a wooden table, a few benches, an old television set, and a small stove boiling water.

Fang Xiaoyu looked around the room and asked, "Sir, do you live here alone?"

"My wife passed away early, and my son works in the county town, only coming back once a month." The old man sat down and poured a cup of hot water for the two of them. "It's raining so hard, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave."

"Won't the landslide ahead be fixed tonight?" Gao Yuan asked.

"Yes, I heard quite a few buildings collapsed." The old man took a sip of water. "I'm afraid we won't be able to leave tonight."

Gao Yuan and Fang Xiaoyu exchanged a glance, looking helpless.

"Grandpa, how many people live in our village?" Fang Xiaoyu asked.

"There aren't many left. All the young people have left, leaving only us old bones." The old man sighed. "It used to be so lively, but now it's all so quiet."

Fang Xiaoyu didn't ask any more questions. She looked around the house. Although it was old, the layout was square and the lighting was good. There were several similar wooden buildings around, scattered on the gentle slope. The path in the middle was paved with bluestone slabs, and low flowers and grasses grew on both sides. Her professional habit made her unconsciously start to examine the spatial layout of the village.

"Grandpa, what did this village do before?"

"We used to grow tea," the old man said, pointing out the window. "Look at that mountain. It used to be covered with tea trees, but then nobody took care of it, and most of it became barren."

Fang Xiaoyu looked in the direction the old man pointed.

Through the rain, the outlines of tea trees could be vaguely seen on the hillside. Although they were covered by weeds, the overall shape was still there. She then looked at the houses around the village. Some of them were old, but the structure was well preserved. The walls were made of wood and the roofs were covered with blue tiles. They would look great in photos.

Fang Xiaoyu turned to look at Gaoyuan and whispered, "This place is suitable for this."

Gaoyuan glanced at her and nodded slightly.

The rain was still falling outside, and the sound of it hitting the green tiles brought a sense of peace.

Fang Xiaoyu sat on a low stool by the door, watching the rainwater flow down the blue tiles. Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind: if the road was repaired and the tea garden was restored, the old houses in the village could be reinforced and transformed into homestays and tea spaces, and the drying ground in front could be turned into an experiential tea ceremony area.

......

Meanwhile, Moore Department Store Plaza was also shrouded in rain.

A figure in a raincoat lingered on the outskirts of the square, seemingly probing for something.